Brown University-vs.-Harvard University Scoresheet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Kristen Hong (Sr., Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) scored four times to claim Player of the Game honors as No. 16-ranked Harvard University rallied back from a 5-3 halftime deficit to down host Brown University, 11-9, during the opening day of the 2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship at Brown’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.
Courtesy the victory, the Crimson (21-6) earn a date with No. 6 the University of Michigan at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in the tournament semifinals as the regular season champion Wolverines had a first round bye. Harvard previously fell to Michigan by a 17-2 count at Bucknell University in the regular season finale for both programs.
Trailing 5-3 at halftime, the Crimson squared the score against Brown (19-13) less than two minutes into the third quarter as Grace Thawley (Fr., Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) connected on a six-on-five chance at 6:39 before Olivia Price (So., Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo) swished a natural goal at 6:03 to deadlock the squads at five-all.
The Bears regained the lead at 6-5 as Dagmara Czajka (Fr., San Diego, Calif./Del Norte) put away a man-up chance at 4:25, but Harvard hammered home back-to-back-to-back markers as Mathilde Ribordy (Jr., Quebec City, Quebec/Les Hydres de Quebec) (4:01, even-strength), Hong (3:27, even-strength) and Lana Gorlinski (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) (1:44, man-up) connected to go ahead for the first time at 8-6.
The margin held up in the fourth quarter as Hong pushed the Crimson’s margin to 9-6 at 6:18. Czajka responded at 4:30, but Sofia Carrera-Justiz (Jr., Coral Gables, Fla./Ransom Everglades) returned the spread to three at 10-7 with 2:17 left on the clock.
Brown attempted to rally back during the final two minutes as Czajka and Maigire McDougal (Sr., Sacramento, Calif./Rio Americano) shaved the Bears’ deficit down to one at 10-9 via back-to-back scores at 2:03 and 1:37, respectively, but Thawley iced the win by converting a man-up opportunity with exactly one minute to go for the 11-9 final score.
The game proved to be a battle of halves as Brown controlled the first 16 minutes, before Harvard used a 5-1 scoring advantage in the third quarter to dominate the last two quarters of play.
McDougal put the Bears on the board first in the opening frame as she broke loose for a goal less than a minute into the contest (7:06). Following an equalizer from Hong at 6:49, Brown took control of the game as Carmen Rosas (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill./James B. Conant) and Kaitlyn Cook (So., Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos) delivered go-ahead and insurance goals for the home team at 6:26 and 5:32, respectively, to give the Bears a 3-1 lead.
Harvard chipped away at the margin throughout the first 6:04 of the second quarter as Hong and Quinne Pursell (So., Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) ripped in power-play opportunities with 4:51 and 1:56 remaining in the first half, respectively, to knot the contest at three-all.
However, McKenna Miller (Sr., Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) and Carissa Perez (So., Pico Rivera, Calif./La Serna) returned the lead to Brown prior to intermission by bounding in natural strikes with 1:14 and 26 seconds remaining, respectively, to make it 5-3 and set the stage for the Crimson’s comeback.
Hong (four) and Thawley (two) led the way for Harvard with multi-goal games, while Price, Gorlinski, Carrera-Justiz, Ribordy and Pursell each accounted for solo scores. Goalie Sam Acker (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) earned the win with eight saves.
For Brown, Czajka (three) and McDougal (two) keyed the Bears’ attack. Cook, Rosas, Perez and Miller also found the back of the cage in support of a six save effort by goalie Lauren Burns (Jr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson).
The defeat drops the host Bears into the consolation side of the seven-team championship as Brown will next be in action against 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, against Saint Francis University prior to facing George Washington University at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 28. The pair of games, combined with a meeting between Saint Francis and George Washington, will determine Fifth-to-Seventh in the final championship standings.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 16 Harvard University | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Brown University | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | 9 |
| Brown Goals: | Dagmara Czajka (3); Maigrie McDougal (2); Kaitlyn Cook; Carmen Rosas; Carissa Perez; McKenna Miller | |||||
| Harvard Goals: | Kristen Hong (4); Grace Thawley (2); Olivia Price; Lana Gorlinski; Sofia Carrera-Justiz; Mathilde Ribordy; Quinne Pursell | |||||
| Saves: | Brown – Lauren Burns (6) ; Harvard – Sam Acker (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Brown – 10 ; Harvard – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Brown – 1-for-8 ; Harvard – 5-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | Brown – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) ; Harvard – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Josh Kratz; Alex Stankevitch | |||||
Brown University’s Lili Akin (#16) defends Harvard University’s Quinne Pursell (#7)
Harvard University’s Sofia Carrera-Justiz (#3) passes as Brown University’s McKenna Miller (#17) defends
Brown University’s Dagmara Czajka (#6)
Harvard University’s Mathilde Ribordy (#6) looks to shoot against Brown University
